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What You Need To Know About Contingency Fees & Arkansas Personal Injury Claims

  • By: Bradley Mullins, Esq.
A notebook with "Contingency Fee" written on it, placed on dollar bills, with a magnifier nearby - Mullins & Blake Attorneys

In this article, you can discover…

  • How much it costs to hire an attorney for your Arkansas injury claim.
  • Benefits to the contingency fee system.
  • How contingency impacts compensation.

What Is A Contingency Fee, And How Does It Work?

A contingency fee means you don’t pay us a fee unless we win money for you. Unlike a divorce or a criminal case, we’re not sending our clients bills monthly. We’re not requiring you to deposit money for a retainer that we bill against. 

We’re also not requiring any out-of-pocket expense for you until we win your case. This helps us represent people who may not be able to afford legal representation if it would cost thousands of dollars just to start their case. 

What if you lose your case? If you lose, you don’t pay. We don’t send a bill to our clients after a lost case, and you’ll only see a bill if you win.

Why Do Injury Attorneys Use Contingency Fee Arrangements?

Contingency fee arrangements allow attorneys to represent people who would not be able to afford hourly rates. In Arkansas, hour attorney’s fees can range from $150 per hour to $500 per hour. 

In the aftermath of a jarring and painful car accident, you’re likely not inclined to pay $4,000 simply to start a legal process and hope that you win as your bills pile up. 

In a contingency fee arrangement, our interests are aligned. We want you to win your case so that we can get paid and so that you can get paid, too. This system aligns attorney-client goals and helps make quality representation affordable for more people.

Are There Any Other Benefits Of A Contingency Fee For The Client?

If you’ve just been injured in a car accident, your finances may not be in great shape. Your car is damaged, you’re out of work for a while, and thousands of dollars just to hire an attorney are likely not within reach. With contingency fees, you can access quality legal help without paying upfront. 

The contingency system also incentivizes an attorney to work expeditiously on your case. In big corporate firms, some lawyers paid by the hour can spend three or four hours working on a single letter and bill a client a thousand dollars for that one document.

We’re not going to do that. We won’t waste your time because we’re not incentivized to. We want you to win as soon as possible while ensuring quality, excellent representation, and the right legal approach for your case.

Are There Any Risks Associated With Contingency Fees?

The main risk is that nobody will get paid. If you don’t win your case, our law firm doesn’t get paid, either. In that case, while you won’t recover any money in the form of damages, you also aren’t obligated to pay exorbitant legal fees in the aftermath of a loss. 

What Other Costs Might A Client Incur Besides The Contingency Fee?

If settling as opposed to going to trial, fees are minimal. Hospital records may cost $40 to obtain, a police report may cost $15, and fuel costs to travel and speak with witnesses may be required. In all, your fees shouldn’t total more than $100. 

If your case does go to court, a filing fee will cost you several hundred dollars. Reporter fees, deposition fees, and witness fees can range into the thousands of dollars. These costs are discussed well in advance, however, and there are no surprises. 

So, how are these expenses paid for? In many cases, we’ll arrange to recover those costs once your case settles and you’re awarded damages. These damages will help pay your fees, making sure you don’t have to pay along the way. 

How Does The Contingency Fee Affect Overall Compensation?

Ideally, and in most situations, you’ll receive an offer or a verdict that covers attorney’s fees and medical bills and still compensates for lost wages and damages for pain and suffering. 

A first offer from an insurance company may not cover all of those expenses; in that case, we’ll negotiate for a better settlement or go to trial to make sure you get the compensation that you deserve. We will never put our clients in a position where we take money from them while they still owe money on medical bills.

For more information on Contingency Fees & Arkansas Personal Injury Claims, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (479) 337-7077 today.